Buckfield native Patrick Dempsey is reportedly making the next season of “Grey’s Anatomy” his last, according to USA Today.

The publication Wednesday said Dempsey apparently told Italian Vanity Fair that the eighth season of the popular ABC show, beginning in September and likely ending in May 2012,  would be his “last.”

“I don’t know what will happen with the other characters, but for me, it’s done,” the publication quoted him as saying.

His representative added his perspective, telling USA Today, “He was referring to the fact that his contract is up at the end of next season and we have no idea what the future holds.”

Shonda Rhimes, “Grey’s Anatomy” creator, said last week that Season 8 may be the “last hurrah” for the show’s remaining original cast members, which include Dempsey. “I really don’t know (who might re-sign) and I don’t presume to know,” she was quoted as saying. “Everybody has an individual choice to make and I get that.”

Dempsey was born in Lewiston and grew up in Buckfield. He initiated Central Maine Medical Center’s Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing in Lewiston and headlines the annual Dempsey Challenge cancer awareness event and fundraiser.